Statement of Faith

The following statement is an expression of certain doctrinal positions held by the church and must be interpreted as expressed in and according to, the literal meaning of the Word of God.

The Bible

We believe that the Bible in its entirety (all 66 canonical books) is inspired by God; absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content and without error. (Mark 12:26-36; John 16:12,13; Acts 1:16, 2:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21)

Trinity of the Godhead

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. (Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:6-8; Isaiah 63:8-10; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6)

God the Father

God is the Creator of all and the sustainer of life, the Father of Jesus Christ, and the Father of all who believe in Christ. (Malachi 2:10; Matthew 3:17, 4:17; John 1:14, 3:3, 3:16-18; Romans 8:15-17; Revelation 20:11)

The Lord Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ, in the flesh, was both God and man and was born into this world of a virgin. He lived a sinless life in which He taught and performed many miracles. The entire Bible focuses on Him, His Person and work, His sacrificial death for us, His bodily resurrection, His present intercession, and His coming again. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3, 18:28, 26:22-23, 28:23)

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person, that He is God, and has all the attributes of God. He was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal Christ to the members of the Church, to indwell believers to enable them to serve Christ, to comfort, instruct, lead and build them up in Christ. He has also been sent to convince sinners of sin, to teach them of Christ's righteousness, and to warn them of coming judgment. (John 7:38-39, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13-15; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4)

The Creation, Fall and Depravity of the Human Race

We believe that the human race, originally created by God in His image, is now alienated from and guilty before God through the disobedience of Adam. The consequences of that sin were the infliction of the penalty of death, loss of spiritual life, death in sin and subjection to Satan's power. Being spiritually dead, human nature is totally corrupt, and this depravity has been transmitted to the entire human race, except for Jesus Christ. Every person is in need of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26, 2:17; Isaiah 64:6; John 5:40, 6:53; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:6; 1 John 3:8. Genesis 6:5; Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; Romans 5:12-19)

Salvation by Grace through Faith

We believe that salvation is only by grace and received as a gift from God through faith alone in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It is entirely apart from good works, such as baptism, church membership and giving. Salvation includes the forgiveness of sins, the receiving of a new nature, and the guarantee of eternal life. (Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14)

Atonement by the Shed Blood of Christ

We believe that release from sin and the consequences of sin requires a payment, and this payment has been fully accomplished solely by the shed blood of Christ who died in our place for our sin. His sacrifice is acceptable to God and is effective for every sinner who receives Christ as Saviour. (Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 26:28; John 1:12; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:24)

Regeneration by the Holy Spirit

We believe that, because of sin, depravity and spiritual death, no one can enter God's Kingdom unless born of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the agent by which the transformation from death to life takes place. (John 3:5-8; Galatians 6:15; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 5:1)

Security in and Assurance of Eternal Life

We believe that salvation and eternal security are assured to all who are actually born again by the Spirit of God from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their personal Saviour. (John 5:24, 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39; 2 Timothy 1:12)

Biblical Separation

We believe that Christians are to live the new life in the power of the Holy Spirit, (1) yielding themselves to Christ's Lordship over their lives, and (2) separating themselves from all that would bring reproach upon their Saviour or oppose Him, His work and His revelation. (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Galatians 5:19-26; Colossians 3:5-17; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

Sanctification

We believe that the members of the Body of Christ have been given a unique position through Christ. They have been sanctified (i.e., set apart) to God. This is a permanent position. However, because believers still retain their sin nature, they are to "grow in grace" - a life-changing process whereby they are being changed by the Holy Spirit through obedience to the Word into mature believers. The time will come when believers will see their Saviour face to face and will be completely like Him. (John 17:11-19; Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24, 5:25-27; Hebrews 2:11, 10:10, 13:12; 1 John 1:7-9; Jude 1)

Baptism with (in) the Holy Spirit

We believe that when the Holy Spirit came upon the whole body of believers on the day of Pentecost it was the fulfillment of the announcement made by John the Baptist and the promises of Christ to His own during His earthly ministry. At Pentecost the disciples were individually endowed with power to witness concerning Christ, and collectively baptized into one body, which was the formation of the Church, which is His Body. (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16, 24:46-49; John 1:33, 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27, 16:7-15; Acts 1:4, 5, 8; 2:1-4, 37)

We further believe, since the time the Gospel was received in the house of Cornelius, and the believers received the Holy Spirit without delay, praying, laying on of hands, or any other condition save faith, all who believe in Christ are born of the Spirit, sealed by the Spirit, anointed by the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, and by (in) the Holy Spirit baptized into the Body of Christ. And we also believe that the New Testament distinguishes between being indwelt by the Spirit, which is true of all believers, and being filled with (controlled by) the Spirit, which is the believers privilege and duty. There is one baptism with (in) the Spirit, and it is into the Body of Christ, but there are many fillings. Pentecost was a one-time historical event. (John 3:3-6; Acts 2:4, 4:8-31, 10:44, 11:18; Romans 8:9-15; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, 12:12, 23; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18; 1 John 2:20-27, 5:1)

Divine Healing of the Body

Christ died not for the effects of sin, but for sin. We believe that sickness is directly or indirectly the effect of sin. God can and will at times divinely heal the body of those who are ill, but such healing is not certain in the sense that forgiveness and salvation are certain for those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 4:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18)

The Church, The Body of Christ

We believe that all genuine believers together form the universal church, having been placed into the body by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. Each local church is intended to be a visible expression of that body, organized for the fellowship, edification and encouragement of believers and the continuation of Christ's work on earth. (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:3-10; Colossians 2:19)

The Great Commission

We believe that all believers are to make the most of every opportunity to communicate their faith in Christ and encourage and disciple other believers through lifestyle, action, and word. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19)

The Second Coming of the Lord

We believe that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His church (the Rapture) is imminent and will precede the tribulation1. We believe that the period of the Great Tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss. (Zechariah 14:4-11; Acts 15:16,17; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)

The Resurrection of the Body

We believe that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead as the Scriptures affirm. We believe also that all believers who die go immediately to be with Christ. When Christ receives the Church to Himself, the bodies of believers who died will be raised as glorified bodies, similar to His resurrected body and will share in His glory. (Psalm 90:3-4; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Romans 1:4, 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20:5,6)

The Eternal Blessedness of the Saved and the Eternal Punishment of the Lost

We believe that reconciliation to God or enmity toward God is fixed eternally at death, and that believers will be forever with the Lord and will become joint heirs with Him in His inheritance. We also believe that those who die still refusing to accept God's gift of salvation in Christ will eventually be resurrected bodily and judged, and are destined to suffer eternal, conscious separation from Christ in the lake of fire, there to remain forever in varying degrees of torment according to their works. (Daniel 7:22-27, 12:3; Romans 8:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8, 22:11)

The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning and the great deceiver of the nations. He was defeated by Christ's death on the cross and will eventually be cast into the bottomless pit for one thousand years followed by eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Genesis 3:15; Job 1:6-12; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 6:12-16; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10)

Ordinances

We believe that the Scriptures teach the practice of observing two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christ prescribed baptism by water for His believing disciples and that this was the practice of the early church. We also believe that the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection is to be signified through the symbolic and public act of baptism. The church observes baptism by immersion. A person should not be baptized unless and until he or she is competent to make a conscious decision to accept Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 8:12) We believe that our Lord and Saviour clearly directed believers to partake in the Lord’s Supper as a memorial of the Lord’s death until He comes again, according to His promise and the Father’s revealed plan. (Luke 22:19-20; Corinthians 11:23-28) The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper shall be observed not less than once a month and shall be administered by a Pastor or, in the absence of a Pastor, by any person authorized by the Board.

Dedication of Children

We believe that it is the privilege of Christian parents to present their children in dedication to the Lord before the church that they may be made the subject of united and solemn prayer. (Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15,16)

Marriage and Family

We resolve that as a matter of belief, doctrine and religious practice, the Church reserves the term “marriage” for the covenant relationship between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. (Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6)

Creation

We believe that the Genesis account of creation is factual, literal and historic. (Genesis 1-11)

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1 We acknowledge that Bible-believing Christians hold a variety of views on aspects of eschatology. While this article reflects The Met’s historical position, we do not require conformity to all its details as a test for membership, so long as there is clear agreement on the biblical expectation of the Lord’s personal and imminent return.